Pumpkinseed build

[meegosh]

Has anyone here kept Pumpkinseed or blue gill? My 75g is freeing up by the minute (long story and all my favorites are dead). I'm wanting a larger bodied fish and the thought of a native build sounds interesting. I've done some reading up on them and keeping them long term seems to work given proper temp and diet.

How many juvies would you recommend in the 75g? I've heard 4 is a good place to start. May have to adjust as they pair up. Ideally I would like a pair or two mellow males, I know, I can dream.

An upgrade could be possible in the next year or so. I'm not afraid to go bigger later down the road. I just don't want to stunt them from the start.

Just wanting to get some opinions on the subject. Before we get upset, it is legal to keep them in PA. PFBC Question and Answer - Moving Fish to an Aquarium

 

[gman42]

Im following along.

I dont know much on the tank requirements for sunfish, wish i could help haha

 

[jseiverd]

I have 2 bluegill i think they are pretty awesome as aquarium fish

 

[meegosh]

I have 2 bluegill i think they are pretty awesome as aquarium fish

What size tank do you have them in if you don't mind me asking? Have you had them long?

Most of the sunfish in the local ponds are stunted and rarely get bigger than 10 inches. I would get them when they are younger and let them grow out together.

Hard to get some clear setup examples. You can see some pretty horrible examples of how to keep these fish. Curious to see what the typical growth rate is in captivity.

I've already decided against blue gill as they would get too big too fast for me. I heard pumpkin and orange spotted or greens stay smaller in aquariums.

 

[jseiverd]

I have one about 5 inch one and 2 small about one inch ones along with some minnows and a crayfish in a 55

 

[LSUMAN]

I can't wait to get some pumpkin seeds of my own. I currently have two young green sunfish I caught in my crawfish pond and they are doing well. I have also kept bluegill and they are easy to maintain. I'm not quite sure on aquarium size but make sure to add some driftwood or logs where they can use for cover as they would in the wild to make then feel more at home.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I've kept both greens and Pumpkinseeds in the past, and of the two I prefer the Pumpkinseeds for both color and size. I've never had bluegills, as they are not permitted in Wyoming, but from what I've read on the two, both the bluegills and the green are very similar fish and I would expect that they would have similar growth rates and should reach similar sizes at adulthood. The Pumpkinseeds from what I've found tend to remain smaller. I've not researched them at all, but have you considered a Rockbass as well? They have longer dorsal and anal fins than their sunfish cousins, but from what I've seen from wild caught specimens seem to remain similar in size to the Pumpkinseeds - again, can't say for sure on those as I haven't researched or kept them. All the sunfish are into live food, but their favorite that I've found are crayfish!

Keep in mind with all the Sunfish family that they are very territorial/aggressive during the spawning period and gaurd their nests after eggs are laid. I've been told that greens and Pumpkinseeds will even stand up to a larger bass when protecting the nest.

 

[LSUMAN]

Where I'm from I've never seen a pumpkin seed get bigger than a rock bass, they also have bigger mouths so don't expect to keep any small fish in there and IME they don't get aggressive. I kept one for years and he was almost completely black and had red eyes

 

[meegosh]

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I think I'm pretty set on pumpkins. I will be setting up my old 30g long tank under my 75g so I can move all the tropical stock into it. Then I will rescape the 75g to open it up a bit more for the sunfish. Going to look at fake plants at Michaels or Joannes. I may try some vals at a later time but from what I've read it is best to keep the light dim until they adjust to tank life.

It works out because I never lowered the 4' shop light that I hung over the tank. It is about 3-4' above the tank right now. Other than that, I think I'm all set, equipment wise.

I'm not sure how fast this build will get going, I got to wait for the weather to break so I can go do some fishing. Supposed to get up into the 50s potentially this weekend, hopefully I can snag a couple decent pumpkins soon. I'm thinking 4 to start with and play it by ear.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Sounds good, look forward to seeing what you put together.

 

[meegosh]

Go figure.. Caught two of these and not a single sunfish. Trout doesn't start till the 13th here. Nice sized fish.

 

[Tetra1990]

Go figure.. Caught two of these and not a single sunfish. Trout doesn't start till the 13th here. Nice sized fish.

Nice fish. Sounds like a cool tank coming together. What will you be feeding the pumpkinseeds? If they are wild caught, weaning them off live food may or may not work.

 

[emerald76]

I've kept both greens and Pumpkinseeds in the past, and of the two I prefer the Pumpkinseeds for both color and size. I've never had bluegills, as they are not permitted in Wyoming, but from what I've read on the two, both the bluegills and the green are very similar fish and I would expect that they would have similar growth rates and should reach similar sizes at adulthood. The Pumpkinseeds from what I've found tend to remain smaller. I've not researched them at all, but have you considered a Rockbass as well? They have longer dorsal and anal fins than their sunfish cousins, but from what I've seen from wild caught specimens seem to remain similar in size to the Pumpkinseeds - again, can't say for sure on those as I haven't researched or kept them. All the sunfish are into live food, but their favorite that I've found are crayfish!

Keep in mind with all the Sunfish family that they are very territorial/aggressive during the spawning period and gaurd their nests after eggs are laid. I've been told that greens and Pumpkinseeds will even stand up to a larger bass when protecting the nest.

I can confirm the fact that they are super aggressive when they have nests in the wild. I had one large male jump all the way out of the water and bite me hard when I stood on a platform by his nest. I've also seen them chase away bass four or five times as large as themselves.

 

[meegosh]

Live food will not be a problem. My fridge in the basement is usually pretty well stocked come spring.

Like any fish, the temperament will vary. It will be a bit of trial and error with lots of supervision. I've seen plenty of examples of it working.

Also a great reason to upgrade soon.